The first Christmas since your separation may seem a distant memory concerning the Christmas child arrangements. You may have dragged yourself through it, whilst in the midst of the divorce process, or perhaps still recovering from the shock of the separation. Moving forward though, you will want to think about putting some structure in place for Christmas and arrangements for the children:
Types of Arrangements
There is no set formula for how this should be approached. It comes down to what works best for your family’s situation. Some examples I have come across are:
1. Alternate Years
Many parents to take it in turns to have the children on Christmas Day. Often the children end up celebrating Christmas Day twice, as the parent not with the children on Christmas Day itself, celebrates when they have the children (e.g. Christmas Eve/Boxing Day).
2. Spending it all together
For divorced couples who are on relatively good terms, there might be the opportunity to put aside their personal differences for the day. Then, for the sake of the children they might be are able to spend the day all together.
3. Splitting the day
I have heard of families who split Christmas Day in half – each parent having the children for part of the day. That way both parents get to spend time with the children on Christmas Day itself.
You’ll need to reach an agreement with your ex about the arrangements. Good communication and proper planning are important to making this a success.
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For more advice on the topic of Christmas, please click here: Christmas.
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